Here's Dell!

 Here's Dell!!!

Dell is a Hearts for Hearts Girl, who is from Appalachia, USA.

We like Dell because she is from the Appalachain Mountains down South in Kentucky, and the Applachian Mountains also go through Pennsylvania, where we live. The Appalachian Trail actually goes right through the center of the Central PA town we were visiting. The restaurant in town has a big sign up in spring and summer that says "Welcome Hikers!" in big letters, and you can see people walking right down the street with big hiking packs on their backs.

Dell looks so beautiful by the Christmas tree! Dell's camo hat was a big hit!

The house I was visiting over Christmas was right now is outside of town - 'down by the crick in the holler," as folks would say. I also have relatives who were coal miners, so it was fun to read Dell's story and learn that her dad was a coal miner. Back in the '60s and '70s, a lot of mines and factories were closing in Northeast PA, so people like my grandparents moved away to find work, just like Dell's family in the book. Things can still be tough for families in the mountains in PA today, but it's often a whole lot tougher in coal mining areas in Kentucky, where Dell is from. Both here and there, folks love to help each other out. Dell brought a little book that told a little bit about her. Then, we loved reading Dell's diary online, where she told about all kinds of things folks up here like doing to help out, too - from baking pies and sharing food to using our knitting and crocheting skills to make warm things to share. You can find it here: http://www.hearts4heartsgirls.com/the-h4h-girls/ (along with info from the other Hearts for Hearts Girls.).  Dell reminded me that I'm almost done my own crochet project - a blanket to send to friends in Central PA to give away to people in need. We love that she shares a story of kids in the USA in need and has great ideas for how folks in a community can help their neighbors.

Dell came with her Camo Hat, Earrings with removable flowers, a pink and a green stretchy bracelet, and a flower necklace. Her pretty flowered shirt looked great with her cutoff jean shorts - a great way to recycle worn-out hand-me-down jeans into a perfect pair of shorts! You can see her yellow Mary-Jane style sneakers here.

We took Dell outside, to get some light and to explore our neck of the woods.

Dell's hair came mostly in a side ponytail... with a little bit that wasn't attached. It could all be let down, but we're going to just rubberband the loose bit into the existing ponytail.

Dell also came with a code that allows you to play games online. I tested out some of the games. Lilian's mini game didn't work quite right, so I kept losing the game and it was frustrating. But some of the games were ok. You can play a game to help Dell make deliveries to folks in the mountains. My favorite is a game that's made up of a lot of mini games.  There were quizzes, too - you can learn which style of world dance you're most like or you can see how well you know the meaning of Appalachian sayings.  

I really liked that the doll company donates money to kids in need. They also feature stories of real girls who work to do good in their communities.